Xavier Dolan And Will Beinbrink Join The Cast Of IT: Chapter Two As Characters From The Novel

After last year’s reboot of Stephen King’s IT turned out to be a breakout hit, it’s no surprise to hear that the sequel is becoming even larger in scale. Not only will IT: Chapter Two delve into the second part of the Loser’s Club’s story, it’ll also expand on the plot by incorporating a few minor characters from King’s novel: Adrian Mellon and Tom Rogan.

According to a recent report from Deadline, Xavier Dolan and Will Beinbrink will join the cast of IT: Chapter Two as two characters from the original story. Dolan is playing Adrian Mellon while Beinbrink portrays Tom Rogan, Beverly Marsh’s abusive husband. They’re joining an ensemble cast that already includes big names like James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Bill Hader, James Ransone, Jay Ryan, and Isaiah Mustafa though we should expect it to grow in the coming weeks.

With production on IT: Chapter Two set to begin in July, more casting announcements are bound to be on the way soon. There’s no telling who else will join the cast but considering the scope of the film, there are plenty of character roles that can be filled by other big-name celebrities.

As for Beinbrink and Dolan’s characters, they should make for interesting additions to the story. Tom Rogan (Beinbrink) isn’t of too much interest since he’s presumably going to be identical to the novel’s version. Adrian Mellon (Dolan), on the other hand, is a whole nother story—no pun intended.

In Stephen King’s novel, Adrian Mellon is one of Derry’s only homosexual residents. The young homosexual man winds up being targeted by a group of bullies who throw him into a river. The bullies responsible for throwing Adrian in are eventually taken to court and charged with murder, though they weren’t the only ones implicated in Adrian’s murder.

In reality, it was Pennywise the clown who devoured Adrian’s body. Authorities found Adrian’s body mutilated and assumed the bullies did that during their attack but Pennywise was the one who bit into the young man. Ron, Adrian’s partner, witnessed the attack but was persuaded not to mention the clown by the prosecution during the trial, ending with the boys’ conviction.

Reasonably speaking, the on-screen depiction of Adrian Mellon will likely fill a role similar to the one he did in the novel. It was Adrian’s death that forced Mike Hanlon to call the Losers Club back to town after all. Therefore, Adrian dying in the beginning sequence could be the event that draws the Losers Club back to Derry for their final bout with Pennywise the clown.